The experience of success among African-American male college students: A grounded theory study

African-Americans are being accepted to the nation's highest ranking colleges and universities at a much higher rate than they have been in the past two decades. Yet there remains a significant achievement gap between African-American and Caucasian college students in the United States, with significantly larger discrepancies for African-American males. This research study conducted a qualitative inquiry into how African-American males described their experience of success in college. Using conversational interviews, observations, and journal summaries, this study gathered data from eight African-American males who were enrolled in college or had recently graduated from college. A grounded theory methodology was used to analyze the data and construct a theory based on the experiences of participants. The results provided keen insight into their personal experiences during college, and offered clues as to how these experiences were related to academic success. Findings from this research served to illuminate the experiences of African-American males who were successful in college, and provided a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. The results confirmed the importance of support systems in contributing to college academic achievement. This study also made new discoveries about factors related to success among African-American males; these included: (a) overcoming culturally specific challenges, (b) taking on new perspectives of motivation, and (c) being self-aware in their efforts to succeed. These results added to existing cognitive learning theories, highlighting the role of past experiences in the learning process. It also informed best practices for educators in effectively mentoring African-American male college students to facilitate academic success.